Thursday, September 18, 2014 — DT 27477

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27477
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27477]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By scchua
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - yet to be solved

Introduction

Today, Jay gives us a very gentle workout that is also light on Briticisms. One clue (25d) proved to be far more difficult to explain than it was to solve.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in all-in-one (& lit.) clues, semi-all-in-one (semi-& lit.) clues and cryptic definitions.

Across

1a   Take power from a captain and cite changes (12)

9a   Pine mostly found after moderate distance (5-4)

I would say that the solution is far from being a "moderate" distance — but, of course, the definition is merely "distance", not "moderate distance".

10a   Writing in favour of someone with no heart (5)

11a   Running through call after work (6)

12a   Loss of nerve due to carbon dated measures (4,4)

The symbol for the chemical element carbon is C^[5].

13a   Advanced, surrounded by retreating diminutive creatures (6)

In the UK (with the exception of Scotland), A level^[5] (advanced level^[5]) is a qualification in a specific subject typically taken by school students aged 16-18, at a level above GCSE^[5] (General Certificate of Secondary Education).

How much longer will one be able to write "In the UK (with the exception of Scotland)..."?

15a   The skill of a salesman keen at heart is witty banter (8)

Here art^[5] is used in the sense of a skill at doing a specified thing, typically one acquired through practice ⇒ the art of conversation.

The setter reasons that if the art of aboriginal peoples is called "native art" then the art of a salesman would naturally be known as "rep art".

18a   Science of planting tea, you might say, in part of a garden (8)

Rockery^[5] is another name for a rock garden.

Perhaps there is an allusion to rocket science^[5] (usually used with a negative), a humorous expression denoting something very difficult to understand ⇒ we want you to get out and vote—it’s not exactly rocket science. Another term with similar connotations is brain surgery. I thought that the following might be apropos.

24a   Blockage, but almost got by after motorway backed up (7)

19a   Rotten scandal at university on the way back (6)

In Britain, up^[5] means at or to a university, especially Oxford or Cambridge ⇒ they were up at Cambridge about the same time.

21a   A few chasing female listener -- frightful (8)

23a   Periods of European disease causing skin rash, reportedly (6)

26a   South American management degree in dance (5)

The samba^[5] is a Brazilian dance of African origin.

27a   People making new wine at sea (9)

28a   Upset in dance venue, joining swimming centre with daughter (12)

Down

1d   Criminal area left after trouble, say (7)

2d   Island group tabloid up in smoke (5)

The Channel Islands^[5] (abbreviation CI^[5]) are a group of islands in the English Channel off the northwestern coast of France, of which the largest are Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney. Formerly part of the dukedom of Normandy, they have owed allegiance to England since the Norman Conquest in 1066, and are now classed as Crown dependencies.

3d   A note in support of strong ruler (9)

In music, ti^[2] (or te) is the seventh note of the major scale in sol-fa notation. Judging by entries in American and British dictionaries, the only recognized spelling in the US would seem to be ti^[3,4,11] whereas, in the UK, the principal spelling would appear to be te^[2,3,4,11], with ti as an alternative spelling in some dictionaries. Oxford Dictionaries Online provides less leeway, giving the spelling as te^[5] with ti shown as the North American spelling.

4d   Lined up for audition, given a reminder (4)

North Americans line up while Brits queue^[5].

5d   Show the other side's revenue from sales (8)

6d   All-round diet includes source of protein -- not enthusiastic! (5)

7d   European celebrity's guide for the night (4,4)

... because it is not visible by day.

In Crosswordland, I have noticed that — more often than not — Europeans are Poles.

8d   Calm down and pay up (6)

14d   Applauds a demand in case of cabbies (8)

16d   A question and answer panel stupidly slide out of control (9)

Motorway [appearing in scchua's comments] is the British name for a controlled access, multi-lane divided highway.

17d   A nameless sentimentalist with a bouquet (8)

18d   Female popped in to recycle rubbish (6)

20d   Go down and change scene within two days (7)

22d   Teacher's Cornish, with friend from Paris (5)

The adjective Cornish^[5] denotes a relation to Cornwall or its people or language. Cornwall^[5] is a county occupying the extreme southwestern peninsula of England; county town, Truro. Cornish customs, for instance, might alternatively be described as southwestern customs.

24d   About relaxation, it's the very top (5)

25d   What is central to demeanour, we hear? (4)

This is an &lit. (all-in-one) clue. The entire clue serves as the definition as well as the wordplay.

The definition is a bit abstruse and I struggled to explain it.

Mien^[5] is a person’s appearance or manner, especially as an indication of their character or mood.

While demeanour^[10] can be a synonym for mien, it can also be used in a broader sense denoting the way a person behaves towards others. Thus, they say (and we hear), one's mien (appearance) is a key element in predicting how one will behave towards others.

The wordplay is a bit more straightforward. It is a homophone (we hear) of the central part of deMEANour.

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon